Irreplaceable
by ryuuro
Summary: It never ceased to amaze him how quickly Shinpachi could go from carefree to dead serious. [Peacemaker Kurogane - Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker fic. Slight Shinpachi x Heisuke. Spoilers for SIP volume 6.]


Irreplaceable  
  
a one-shot by Ayu  
  
Additional notes: Shinpachi/Heisuke. Spoilers for up to volume 6 of Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker and possible future developments in the anime.  
  
--  
  
"W...wait a second... hold on, don't-- OW!!"  
  
Shinpachi frowned, pulling the reddened towel away. "Heisuke, c'mon, don't be a baby. You have to clean it off."  
  
Heisuke lifted a hand to his forehead, gingerly touching the mark given to him by Yoshida's spear. The bloody bandages from the battlefield laid beside him, crumpled up. "It still hurts, though..."  
  
The smaller of the two smirked just a bit. "Of course it hurts, you got stabbed in the face with a spear!" He sighed and leaned over to the side, wringing the towel out in a wooden bucket. "It'll get infected if you don't have it cleaned. You really want it to scar?"  
  
Silence filled the empty room. Heisuke shifted about a bit in his chair, eyes glancing downward. Shinpachi raised an eyebrow at the sudden movement. "Well?"  
  
"You know, it..." Heisuke started, before trailing off into a small fit of nervous laughter. One hand strayed over to the other, wringing together. After a moment, he looked back up at Shinpachi and smiled weakly. "It's going to scar, Shinpattsan. You know that."  
  
"Ehh?" Shinpachi leaned forward in his seat, causing Heisuke to lean back in order to create some space in between the two. "Don't be so negative! And if it does, so what?"  
  
Heisuke laughed a little bit, waving a hand at him. "Right, right... it's nothing but a reminder, just like all the other scars we have!"  
  
"... a good reminder."  
  
That remark caused Heisuke to shift back to his original position, his eyes meeting the other man's eyes. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly Shinpachi could go from carefree to dead serious. Heisuke could always see it in his eyes.  
  
"You could have died, Heisuke."  
  
He flinched at that. Shinpachi shook his head, allowing the hand with the towel to fall to his side. "It was stupid."  
  
"He was coming for you two," Heisuke murmured, subconsciously lifting a hand to his head. He hissed in pain as his fingers brushed the tender wound and immediately yanked the hand away. "... I had to try something."  
  
"But nothing that stupid!" Shinpachi growled, eyes narrowing. "I thought you knew better!"  
  
Heisuke's eyes shifted downward again, causing Shinpachi's expression to soften. "... I was worried, y'know," he muttered, rubbing his wounded hand. "Thought you were gonna die."  
  
A small laugh escaped Heisuke's mouth, and he smiled again. "Ahh, Shinpattsan, that would've been bad, wouldn't it? Then who would be the third member of the comedian trio, ehh?"  
  
Shinpachi allowed a bit of a smile to spread across his face, and he put his good hand behind his face. "I dunno, Tetsu's been gettin' pretty grown up! I bet he could do just fine!" After a moment, the smile shifted to a playful smirk. "Better than you."  
  
Heisuke huffed, crossing his arms. "The puppy, better than me? You're only saying that because he's smaller than you!"  
  
The uncomfortable silence settled in once more, leaving what was unsaid hanging in the air.  
  
"...look, Shinpattsan. You're bleeding again," Heisuke remarked as he leaned over to Shinpachi, taking his wounded hand. Carefully, he undid the bandages and grabbed a fresh towel, slowly cleaning the wound.   
  
Shinpachi grit his teeth together. "Heisuke, easy there...! Easy! And like you should talk about bleeding... your forehead's dripping again!"  
  
"Is it? Ahh, I can't tell, it's my forehead."  
  
"It's bleeding, I tell you! You're not gonna be able to see soon, you know. Blood matting your hair and your eyes and all!"  
  
"Oh? Maybe I should visit the puppy then! Or even his brother! Ha! Wouldn't they get a kick out of it..."  
  
Heisuke laughed at that and scooped up a roll of bandages. Shinpachi let out a small sigh, flexing his hand a bit before the other began to wind the bandages around the wound.  
  
"You're irreplaceable, Heisuke."  
  
"... I know." 


End file.
